


Drop Dead Desperate

by hollyandvice (hiasobi_writes)



Category: Venom (Movie 2018)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Captivity, Reunions, Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-01-04
Packaged: 2021-03-14 07:14:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,972
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28541640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hiasobi_writes/pseuds/hollyandvice
Summary: Eddie has no idea how long he's been down here. There are no windows, and he's kept in darkness, which only abates in those rare moments that they bring Venom back to him to keep the symbiote alive. Periodically they drag him out of the cell without Venom and beat him to a bloody pulp. It's a small comfort to know that Venom is keeping the so-called scientists off-kilter enough that they can't figure out a damn thing about how he functions.Those beatings are the only indication that he gets regarding the passage of time. Venom hasn't said a word to Eddie since they were brought in here.Eddie Brock is no damsel in distress, but that doesn't mean he wouldn't appreciate a rescue right now. Unfortunately, none seems to be coming.
Relationships: Eddie Brock/Venom Symbiote
Comments: 12
Kudos: 130
Collections: Marvel Trumps Hate 2020





	Drop Dead Desperate

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Giveemhale](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Giveemhale/gifts).



> Written for going88mph/fanficmakesmehappy for the [2020 MTH event](https://www.marveltrumpshate.com/) for the following prompt:
> 
> _Venom and Eddie are kidnapped and forcefully separated for experiments. Venom eventually manages to escape. He (literally) joins with Peter Parker (or anyone of your choosing) to break Eddie out. Bonus points if Eddie learns that Venom broke out and is all emo bc he thinks he’s been abandoned but also is hoping Venom finds a new host who treats him right bc he’s noble like that and I love angst_
> 
> I hope this is everything you dreamed of, my dear!!

Eddie has long since lost track of time. His internal chronometer has gone to shit after eighteen months with Venom in his body. The symbiote has been doing most of the basic upkeep of their body, and without the normal regulatory patterns of eight hours of sleep and three regular meals, Eddie has stopped tracking time much at all.

Which is all to say that Eddie has no idea how long he's been down here. There are no windows, and he's kept in darkness, which only abates in those rare moments that they bring Venom back to him to keep the symbiote alive. Periodically they drag him out of the cell without Venom and beat him to a bloody pulp. It's a small comfort to know that Venom is keeping the so-called scientists off-kilter enough that they can't figure out a damn thing about how he functions.

Those beatings are the only indication that he gets regarding the passage of time. Venom hasn't said a word to Eddie since they were brought in here.

Eddie's tried to coax him out of the quiet corner of their mind that he inhabits, but it hasn't worked yet. Not that Eddie's going to stop trying, but part of him wonders if it's time to accept that Venom is too far gone and will stay that way until they find a way out of here. Eddie's no help on that front, though, what with the fact that the only time he can see in the cell is when he has Venom's night-vision capable eyes rolled over his own. It's not enough to form even a hint of a plan, no matter how wide Eddie opens his eyes in the pitch black darkness of the cell.

Time drifts in and out, and Eddie can't remember the last time that he had anything to eat or drink. And even though he doesn't know how long he's been here, it does feel like it's been too long since the last time they brought Venom to him. Something must be wrong.

It's as he's wondering when they're going to bring Venom back that his tormentors come and drag him out of the cell by his hair. Eddie scrambles to his knees and then to his feet, searching the halls around them as they march him through the complex.

After seven turns and an elevator ride, they throw Eddie to the ground at the feet of a vaguely familiar woman. Eddie starts to get to his knees, but his captors shove him back down. Then there's a boot on the back of his neck and it's all Eddie can do to go very, very still.

"You are the most arrogant some of a bitch I've ever had to bring into my lab. I hope you understand what it's costing me to bring you in here."

"Well you must have a hell of a good reason, then."

The boot on the back of his neck pushes down harder. "You bet your ass I do."

Eddie closes his eyes and prepares for the worst. Not that he knows what the worst will be, but he knows it'll be bad.

When it comes again, the scientist's voice comes from right by his ear. "Where did your little parasite go?"

Eddie has to slow down his breathing to keep from climbing to his feet to confirm that Venom really is gone. When he's sure his voice won't shake when he speaks, he says, "Come again?"

"Your parasite saw fit to run off with one of my techs this morning. He was a bit too big for his britches anyway, but that's not the point. Where did it go?"

Eddie concentrates on his breathing, desperate to keep everything in check. "Why would I tell you that?"

"Because," and her voice is positively gleeful now, "if you don't, I'll let Damon do whatever he wants to you."

Eddie swallows, hating the way his neck pushes back into the boot as he does. "You think that scares me?"

"I think your parasite was the only reason you've made it this long without your body completely shutting down. I think that without it, you're looking at a slow, painful death. And I think that you don't want anything to do with that, So, yes, I think that getting your ass beat when you don't have your little friend to help you out would scare you."

Eddie takes a minute to weigh his choices. Venom hadn't said anything about breaking out, which means if he's gone, he's probably left Eddie behind for good this time. Not that Eddie can blame him. But if Venom isn't coming back, then Eddie sure as shit isn't about to go down without a fight.

Something of his conviction must show on his face, though, because the boot on the back of his neck presses down pointedly. "Think very carefully about what you do next."

Eddie almost wants to fight anyway. He knows he's not as strong as Venom, knows he doesn't really stand a chance against a group of any size. Hell, he'd be hard pressed to take on a single person that was even slightly above his weight class. He wants to fight, wants to bring the world down around his ears and leave nothing behind. But he's also a coward. A loser, as Venom had called him once upon a time. And in the end, he's no fist fighter. He fights with his words, and words are only going to get him so far right now.

But he can do something.

"Go to hell."

The scientist hums. "You're sure?"

"You're damn right I'm sure."

"Alright, then," she says. "Go ahead, Damon. He's all yours."

The worst part about the next two hours is that they don't beat him up the whole time. They seem to be taking it in shifts. Not that Eddie can really tell; his left eye has swollen shut before they're even halfway through with the whole thing. It's feet and fists and knees and elbows and Eddie knows his body would have been able to take this punishment once upon a time, but right now it feels impossible. Without Venom—

He shuts that thought down. Venom's gone, and the fucked up thing about it all is that Eddie can't even blame him. He's a mess, a weakling, a _loser_ , and there's nothing he can do about it, now or ever. So he rolls with the punches (hah) and lets them do whatever they need to do to get out their frustration on his skin. And if he hopes that they might one day have enough and let him die, then what's that to him?

It might be easier to drift off into the dark than be left behind.

He does end up drifting, only coming back to himself when they splash him in the face with ice water. It's only as an incentive for him to get to his feet so that it's easier for them to drag him back to his cell. It hurts, but it doesn't hurt as much as the aching emptiness in the center of his chest where Venom usually settles.

He's not sure if he wants to make it through this. He doesn't know what life will be like after Venom, and he doesn't know if he wants to find out. He's gotten so used to the damn alien wrapped up in him — in his body, in his brain — that losing him is like losing a part of himself. It's been hard enough going without the feeling of Venom buried in his chest for the interminable hours when he'd been extracted and forced into the labs over the last god only knows how long. Eddie had gotten used to that ache, and the ache of Venom's silence when they were connected, no matter how briefly.

But this time it seems it might be permanent.

Eddie barely feels the stone scraping his arms and his cheek as his captors throw him back into his cell. The abrasions are nothing to the bruises and contusions that he's endured at their hands already. Just one more shallow ache in the midst of all this pain and hurt.

He swallows the blood in his mouth and curls up into the fetal position, waiting for the moment when they decide that keeping him alive is more trouble than it's worth.

* * *

Time still flows in fits and starts. He feels it when the goons drag him back to the lab to talk to their boss and he feels it when he snarks back at her. He feels it when he spits blood onto the ground at her feet and when the goons drag him back to the cell they'd been beating him up in. He feels it when they beat him up and splash water on his face and shove him back into his cell again.

But all of it comes to him through a hazy film that blocks him from the world outside.

Everything's duller without Venom in his core, and even though he's felt this before, it's different knowing that Venom chose this. Chose to leave him behind.Everything fades a little at the edges, and Eddie wonders sometimes if that's because Venom's gone or because his vision's fucked up from the beatings. Everything's changed, and Eddie doesn't know if he has the capacity to handle it anymore.

When did he become so dependent on Venom? How much longer are they going to put him through this? And what will be left of him when they're done?

* * *

He doesn't move when the door clatters open behind him. The person that comes through feels familiar, and Eddie assumes it's one of his normal tormentors coming to try to beat a truth he doesn't have out of him. He doesn't move, too tired and worn-down to fight. Maybe today's the day that they finish him off for good.

"Eddie?"

There's a familiarity in the tone, something just left of center, and Eddie feels the smile on his face come, unbidden.

"Eddie, come on. Sit up."

Eddie hums and feels some of the tension leak out of his shoulders. It almost sounds like Venom. "I hope you found a good host."

"What?"

"You deserve it. Someone stronger than me. Better. Braver."

There's a familiar slithering sound from somewhere to his right. "You idiot." And those words could not be more familiar than any other. Eddie forces his good eye open, and there, hovering in front of him, is Venom.

"Venom?"

"The one and only. You didn't think I was leaving you behind, now did you?"

"The thought crossed my mind."

Venom hums, then slinks back to the person he'd come in with. A boy, barely seventeen. Eddie raises an eyebrow. Venom snarls. "He was the best host I could find with you out of commission."

"Right, I'm so sorry about that."

"You should be." Then the host leans down, one hand pressed flat on the floor near Eddie's. "Now, are you going to accept the bond or not?"

Eddie blinks. "What?"

The host quirks his lips up in a smirk that's all Venom. "I came back for you, loser. Now, do you want the bond or not?"

Eddie closes his eyes and sinks into the familiar sensation of Venom sliding over and through his skin until they're bonded closer than anyone else could ever have been for either of them. They are one and the same, so close that they can't even begin to disentangle themselves, and Eddie knows it's pride that has him feeling invincible the second they are fully bonded, but he doesn't care. He has Venom again, and the rest? Well, the rest can all wait until later.

Right now he has some scientist ass to kick.


End file.
